conworldfandomcom-20200222-history
New Cambria
New Cambria, officially the Republic of New Cambria (French: '''République de Nouvelle-Cambrie'; Hejvat: Orvehi Đijoro) is a country in the North Atlantic Ocean, comprising the island of New Cambria and five smaller populated islands near the boundary between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Home to a culturally distinct indigenous people known as the Keva, New Cambria was explored by French fur traders beginning in the 1610s, then settled mostly by Roman Catholic emigrants from Great Britain during the seventeenth- and eighteenth centuries. New Cambria experimented with limited self-rule during World War II, and declared its independence from the United Kingdom in 1956. Following a series of negotiations between the British and New Cambrian governments, the Republic of New Cambria was recognized in 1961, and functions under a parliamentary republican form of government. Arvant is its capital and largest city. Geography New Cambria Island is roughly triangular in shape. Its northern and western shores are dotted with dozens of natural harbours. Several of the country's major cities have been built up around them, Arvant and Southport, for example. On the eastern coast of the island, cliffs rise out of the sea, the highest of which measure over 180m. Stone County takes its name from the rocky coastline in this part of the island. Arvant, New Cambria's capital city, is located at the same approximate latitude as Belfast, Gdansk and Moscow. On the summer solstice New Cambria experiences over 17 hours of daylight, compared with just 7 hours on the winter solstice. New Cambria's nearby islands are far less developed than their larger neighbour, and large parts of Alaric and Saint Claire Islands are still uninhabited. Climate New Cambria is situated between the cold Labrador Current and the warm Gulf Stream Current. Because of this, fog is quite common throughout the country. New Cambrians enjoy mild summers and cold, wet winters. Due to its awkward oceanic location, snowfall is less common than other places at a similar latitude, but freezing rain is a near-daily occurrence in the winter months. The warmest temperature ever recorded in the country was 35.9 degrees Celsius (96.6 degrees Fahrenheit) on 24 July 1929. The coldest ever recorded temperature was -34.5 degrees Celsius (-30.1 degrees Fahrenheit) on 16 February 1970. History Ancient History Paleo-Indians camped at locations in present-day New Cambria approximately 9,000 years ago. Archaic Indians are believed to have been present in the area between 1,500 and 4,500 years ago. The Keva people are their direct descendants. Some believe that the Vikings may have settled in New Cambria at some time, though there is little evidence of this, and the claim is disputed by historians. The only authenticated Viking settlement in North America outside of Greenland is L’Anse aux Meadows on the nearby island of Newfoundland, which establishes the fact that Vikings explored the continent 500 years before Christopher Columbus. Early Keva Period European Discovery and Settlement While the exact location of his landing is disputed, it is most widely believed that Italian explorer John Cabot visited the present-day Cape Bangor in 1497. The first European settlement in New Cambria was established in 1612, over a century later. The French, led by Christian Leveque, landed in present-day Southport on 9 October, and named the island “Île Denis de Paris (Denis of Paris Island)”, after the Roman Catholic saint whose feast day was celebrated on 9 October. Also, French fishermen established a settlement at what is now Arvant in the spring of 1613. The town of North Landing on Cavit Island was the site of one of North America's largest witch trials in 1687. Of the sixty-seven people arrested for practicing witchcraft between April and August, twenty-six were hanged, two were tortured to death and one died in prison. Provincial Period Following the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, the French ceded their colonies in North America east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain. This included any claim to New Cambria Island and its five smaller neighbours. At the time, French people made up about 40% of New Cambria's population, and while many chose to return to France or resettle elsewhere in North America, most remained. In 1764, New Cambria, Cavit, Alaric and Sainte Claire Islands became part of the newly-created Province of New Cambria. Bainbridge Island was absorbed into the province in 1769, and Wall Island in 1771. After Canada achieved the status of Dominion in 1867, New Cambria's local governments expected the same status to be conferred upon them in short order. In reality, New Cambrians witnessed Newfoundland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland become self-governing countries in their own right while continuing to remain a province ruled by a Monarch-appointed Governor and Ruling Council. World War II and Home Rule Experiment The British declaration of war against Germany in 1939 was met with great dissatisfaction amongst New Cambrians. This sentiment grew sharply in November 1939, when the Ruling Council published an advertisement in every major New Cambrian newspaper aiming to recruit young men on the islands into the military. For months, the New Cambrian media criticized the advertisement and the Governor-General's subsequent defense of it. In March 1940, members of two dozen town and county councils convened in Portsmouth to formulate a new plan on how to work with the Ruling Council, some of whom had already left New Cambria for Great Britain. The meetings ended in a deadlock, with members unable to decide between forming a council of their own or petitioning the Governor-General for more local representation in the existing Ruling Council. Many of those in favor of creating a new legislature without the consent of the Governor-General were members of the Democratic Party of New Cambria, which was renamed the Independence Party of New Cambria in 1941 to better reflect this change in ideals. On Tuesday, 2 June 1942, 40 men from all over the islands met in the ballroom at the Hotel Corinthia in Arvant and formed the House of Delegates of New Cambria. Franklin Earley was elected by his fellow Delegates to the position of Chairman that same day. Post-Independence New Cambria's earliest years as a republic were a tightrope walk between a professed desire for independence, self-sufficiency and self-determination and the reality of near-total dependence on the United States and Canada for basic services and economic support. While all of New Cambria's political parties advocated independence from Great Britain, they seldom agreed on how the country should operate as a republic, creating tension in Parliament, the Executive Council, and in local government. As part of its wartime pledge to New Cambrians, the United States continued to provide support to the fledgling republic to increase its infrastructure and rebuilt its economy, under the assumption that New Cambria would become a full member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in return. New Cambria did not seek to join the organization, however, which some in the United States saw as disingenuous. New Cambria took its place in the United Nations on 18 September 1973, the same date as East Germany, West Germany and the Bahamas. Although the pound sterling was the official currency of New Cambria until 1961, the United States dollar was widely accepted as a ''de facto currency, especially in the cities. Upon independence in 1961, the New Cambria pound was decimalised, and the currency was pegged to the U.S. dollar at a rate of $1 = ₤1.15 from 1963 to 1970. The 1980s were a time of transition in New Cambria. During this decade, telecommunications, tourism and financial services occupied an increasing share of the country's economy at the expense of more traditional industries such as fishing, logging and shipbuilding. At first, economic output decreased, but toward the end of the 1980s, began growing rapidly. By the mid-1990s, New Cambria was attracting migrants from all over the world, eager to take advantage of the country's plentiful job market and recently relaxed immigration laws. By the end of the millennium, New Cambria had become a wealthy, developed country with an educated and productive population. At the same time, however, the country began witnessing the side effects of these developments, as drug abuse, alcoholism, domestic violence, youth gangs, teenage delinquency and obesity became visible facts of life in many parts of the country. Politics :See Article: Politics of New Cambria Head of State The President of New Cambria is a largely ceremonial office whose chief duties are to present and represent the Republic abroad, and function as a ceremonial head of state. Among some of his or her limited powers, the President can block a piece of legislation he or she believes is contrary to the Constitution. The President is directly elected once in every six years, for a maximum of two terms. If, however, as has occurred on a number of occasions, a consensus among the larger political parties results in only a single candidate being nominated, then no actual ballot occurs. The current President is Daniel Burns. He was first elected to the office in 2003, and was granted a second term in 2009 after standing unopposed for reelection. There is no position of Vice-President in New Cambria. If the Office of President becomes vacant, or if the President is unable to perform his or her duties due to a stay abroad, the Speaker of the Assembly of Deputies acts as an interim head of state until either the sitting President is able to resume the office, or a new President is elected. Unlike in many English-speaking countries, the President is directly addressed as "President," rather than "Mr. (or Madam) President." Executive Council :See Article: Executive Council of New Cambria The head of government is the Prime Minister, who, together with the Executive Council, oversees the government's executive branch. The Executive Council is appointed by the President after general elections to Parliament. This process is usually conducted by the leaders of the political parties, however, who decide amongst themselves which parties can form the Executive Council and how its seats are to be distributed, under the condition that it enjoys majority support in Parliament. Only when party leaders are unable to reach a conclusion by themselves in a reasonable time does the President exercise this power and form the council himself. The current Prime Minister is Jeremy Kinney, the leader of the Social Democrat Party. The Executive Councils have almost always been coalitions with two or more parties involved, due to the fact that no single political party has received a majority of seats in Parliament since New Cambria became a republic. The size of the Executive Council has ebbed and flowed. Currently, the Executive Council comprises fourteen members. Assembly The Assembly of Deputies of New Cambria is New Cambria's national legislature. It consists of the President of New Cambria and 100 Deputies to Assembly. Since 1977, the Assembly has convened at Parliament Buildings in Arvant. From 1961 to 2009, the legislature was bicameral, consisting also of a 50-member Senate. The 2009 constitution eliminated the Senate, though the incumbent Senate will continue to serve until new elections are called. The Assembly of Deputies is directly elected under universal suffrage of all citizens of New Cambria who are resident and at least eighteen years of age. An election is held at least once in every three years as required by law. However, the Assembly may dissolve itself if a majority of deputies vote for dissolution. Assembly elections occur under the system of proportional representation by means of the Single Transferable Vote. Previously, the number of Deputies was fixed at 100. The 2009 constitution provides for a variable number of Deputies in the Assembly, so long as there are no greater than one Deputy for every 20,000 people, and no fewer than one Deputy for every 40,000 people. Given the current population of New Cambria, the Assembly could range in size from 70 to 138 members. Distribution of Seats in the Assembly Judiciary The judicial branch of New Cambria's government is constitutionally separated from the executive and the legislature. The Court of Cassation of New Cambria is the highest judicial body in New Cambria. It consists of a Chief Justice and ten Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President subject to confirmation by the Assembly. Once appointed, Justices serve a two-tiered life term, serving "during good behaviour," which terminates only upon death, resignation, retirement, or conviction on impeachment. The Court meets in Arvant at Justice Centre Buildings. The Court of Cassation is New Cambria's court of last resort, but also has original jurisdiction in a small number of cases. Once a Cassation Court Justice reaches the age of 75, he or she takes on the title "Justice Emeritus," and enters the second part of the two-tiered life term. From this point on, the Justice Emeritus is still entitled to an office and a staff, and may also hear cases presented before the Court, pose questions during the hearings, and participate in deliberations. The Justice Emeritus is not, however, permitted to vote in the final decisions of cases. When a Justice becomes a Justice Emeritus, the President and the Assembly appoint a new Justice to take his or her place. The Justice Emeritus may be removed from the Court in the same manner as an ordinary Justice may, but this has never been put into practice. There is currently a single Justice Emeritus on the Court, the Honourable Marilyn Westin, who became such in 2007. Elections Municipal and parliamentary elections take place every three years. Presidential elections are held every six years. Since election days are not set by law, they may be held on any day of the week. The most recent election was held on 14 March 2009 and was won handily by the Social Democrat party. The previously ruling Independence party suffered a net loss of eight seats, and the National party, its partners in coalition, were nearly wiped out of the Assembly altogether, losing four of their five seats. The Single transferable vote (STV) is used to elect Deputies to the Assembly and Senators. The Instant-runoff vote is used to elect the President and in by-elections. In 1996, the Assembly debated over whether to institute compulsory voting in New Cambria, but facing harsh criticism from the media and the public, the issue was never put to a vote. Political Parties For the most part, New Cambria has a left-right multi-party system. The biggest party is the centre-left Social Democrat party, while the second-largest is the Indepdendence party. Other major political parties are the centrist Progressive party, the left-wing ecological Green party, and the right-wing National party. Returning to the Assembly for the first time in 15 years is the Socialist party, with a single seat. Two additional parties operate outside the traditional left-right system. The Keva minority has its own party, called Eđa Elaho Ohati (literally Voice of the First People, often referred to as EEO in English and French). Originally formed as an alternative for Keva voters who felt excluded from the political process, the EEO has experienced a growth in electoral popularity among non-Keva voters in the past decade, and now holds five seats in the Assembly. The French-speaking community also has a party, the Parti égalité (Equality Party), though it has struggled to find a foothold amongst voters due to competition from the French-speaking chapters of the major parties. Historically, the National and Independence parties support each other in Parliament, as do the Green and Social Democrat parties. The Progressive Party most often votes with the majority, while alignments of the French- and Keva-communities' parties are much more difficult to predict. Many other parties exist on the local level, most of which run only locally inside a single municipality. Parliament is currently controlled by a coalition between members of the Social Democrat, Progressive, Green and Equality parties and three independent members. The Independence and National parties sit in opposition. The Socalist Party sought to form a government with the SDP, but was refused, and so is technically in opposition, though will most likely support the government in most issues. While the EEO did not formally declare support for either faction in this Parliament, its ADs more frequently vote with the SDP than Independence. Based on the voting patterns of the various parties, the coalition is the largest in Assembly history, with 63 members supporting the government either officially or unofficially, and only 37 opposing it. Foreign Relations :See Article: Foreign relations of New Cambria The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was one of the first governmental ministries established when New Cambria declared its independence in 1956. Although diplomats could not present credentials at foreign governments until the United Kingdom formally recognized New Cambria's independence in 1961, a number of unofficial representatives worked on the provisional government's behalf internationally. The initial purpose of the newly formed foreign ministry was both to represent New Cambria's interests though diplomatic channels, and to provide consular services for New Cambrian shipping and commerce overseas. In 1962, the Parliament decided to establish nine embassies in Europe, and one each in Canada and the United States. 20 consular offices were also opened. In 1970, the ministry was consolidated and reorganized to ensure fuller cooperation between the diplomatic and consular branches. The reorganization included the formation of a designated career path for diplomats that included completion of a university entrance examination and professional experience from international trade. New Cambria joined the United Nations on 18 September 1973. New Cambria tends toward independence in foreign policy, thus it is not a member of NATO and, owing to its absence of an army, has a longstanding policy of military neutrality. This policy has helped New Cambria's Coast Guard and Crisis Response Unit to be successful in their contributions to UN peace-keeping missions, first in Lebanon in 1978, and more recently in the former Yugoslavia, East Timor, Liberia. New Cambria enjoys its closest political ties with Canada, the United States, Iceland and Denmark, the latter mostly via Greenland. New Cambria is also a member of the Organization of American States (OAS) since 1990, and of the International Criminal Court since 2002. Military New Cambria maintains no standing army. There is, however, no legal impediment to forming one. New Cambria maintains a well-trained Coast Guard, National Police forces, Air Defense system and well as a voluntary expeditionary peace-keeping force. These services perform many of the operations most countries relegate to their standing armies. The Crisis Response Unit is manned by approximately 1,000 personnel from New Cambria's other services, armed or not, including the National Police, Coast Guard, Emergency Services and Health-Care system. Because of the military nature of most of the unit's assignments, all of its members receive basic infantry combat training. This training has often been conducted by the Canadian Forces, but the Coast Guard and Special Forces are also assigned to train the Crisis-Reponse Unit. Since its founding in the early 1990s, the formation and employment of the unit has met with controversy in New Cambria, especially by people to the left of the political spectrum. Canada has agreed to grant New Cambria citizens the same eligibility as Canadian citizens for military education in Canada and to serve as professional soldiers in the Canadian forces. Administrative Divisions :See Articles: Counties of New Cambria, Municipalities of New Cambria New Cambria has 65 municipalities grouped into nine counties, of which seven are located on New Cambria Island itself. Cavit Island functions as its own county, but Alaric Island and its neighboring islets are grouped together as the "Outer Islands." The term "municipality" should not be confused with "settlement" or "town." Municipalities, especially those in southern New Cambria Island and the Outer Islands, may contain any combination of small settlements, urban areas or unpopulated regions. Each county has a County Council, which carries out most local government functions. Within each municipality is a Council of between 5 and 15 members, and limited powers. New Cambria's four most populous municipalities (Arvant, Averytown, Talbot and Southport) have been granted home-rule by Parliament, and have county-level local government powers. Demographics :See Articles: New Cambria Nationality Law, Historical Population of New Cambria The original population of New Cambria was an indigenous people called the Keva. The Keva's recorded history extends back over two millennia, and physical remnants of their society, culture and religion are evident throughout the islands. Today, however, most New Cambrians are descendants of English, Welsh, Irish and French settlers who arrived in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The population of New Cambria totaled 2,770,031 on 01 July 2006. On 01 July 2008, the population was estimated to have increased 0.07% to 2,771,933. In 2006, approximately 197,000 people (approx. 7.1% of the total population) who were living in New Cambria had been born abroad, including children of New Cambrian parents living abroad. Approximately 130,000 people (4.7% of the population) held foreign citizenship. Canadians and Americans make up the far largest minority nationalities, and still form the bulk of the foreign workforce. About 56,000 Canadians and 43,000 Americans now live in New Cambria, mostly in and around the capital city. The recent growth in immigration has been credited to a labor shortage caused by the booming economy, and a simultaneous relaxing of immigration restrictions designed to attract immigrants from Europe. Language New Cambria's official language is English, and most New Cambrians speak a distinct dialect called New Cambria English. The country's constitution protects and promotes certain minority languages as established by law. Currently, French (approx. 170,000 speakers) and Keva (~90,000 speakers) enjoy such protected status. The most widely-spoken minority language without special constitutional protection is Bosnian, with an estimated 3,000-4,000 speakers. Of New Cambria's 65 municipalities, 55 of them have majority English-speaking populations and six have plurality English-speaking populations. Of the remaining four, two (Vianney in Stone County and neighboring Crevecour in Trinity County) have majority French-speaking populations. Also, in nearby Milindour in Stone County a plurality of residents speak French at home. The only area with a Keva-speaking majority is the small municipality of Jeđeves in North-West County. Keva, known in its own language as Hejvat, is a language isolate, linguistically unrelated to any other living language. The total number of Keva-language speakers in New Cambria has consistently declined since census record keeping began in the mid-1800s. In the last two decades, the Keva community and the Ministry of Culture has worked to make Keva language more accessible and visible in everyday life. In 1997, the first official Keva translation of the New Cambrian constitution (Keva: Đanehe Eha Orvehi Đijoro) was published. Foreign language study is a required component of public and private education at all levels. Most New Cambrian students receive education in French and Spanish, though other European languages are gaining in popularity. Religion , Stone County.]]New Cambrians enjoy freedom of religion under the constitution, though Roman Catholicism is the state religion. The National Registry keeps account of the religious affiliation of every New Cambrian citizen. In 2006, New Cambrians divided into religious groups as follows: *80.7% members of the Roman Catholic Church *6.2% members of unregistered religious organizations or with no specified religious affiliation *4.9% members of the Anglican Church in New Cambria *2.8% not members of any religious group *2.5% followers of the Keva religious traditions The remaining 2.9% is mostly divided between around 20-25 other Christian denominations and sects, with less than 1% belonging to non-Christian religious organizations. The largest non-Christian denomination is the Æstra Fellowship, a neo-pagan group. Religious attendance is relatively low, as in most Western countries. National Registry All living New Cambrians, as well as all foreign citizens with permanent residence in New Cambria, have a personal identification number identifying them in the National Registry. This number is composed of thirteen digits in the form YYYY-MMDD-PNNNC. The first eight digits are the individual's birth date in the form YYYY-MM-DD. The ninth digit is the place of birth (1-9 for each county in alphabetical order, and 0 for foreign-born residents). The next three digits are assigned randomly when the number is issued, and the final digit is a check digit. A hypothetical, but valid example would be 1976-0104-28617. While similar, personal registries exist in other countries, the use of the national registry is unusually extensive in New Cambria. For example, video rentals register their customers using the Registry's identification numbers. It is worth noting that the completeness of the National Registry eliminates the need for censuses to be performed in the traditional sense. Economy and Infrastructure , are being replaced with asphalt paving.]] Historically, New Cambria's economy depended heavily on its forests, shipbuilding, fishing and fur trading. To this day, fishing still provides about 30% of earnings from exports and employs 6% of the country's workforce. The economy is vulnerable to declining fish stocks and drops in world prices for its main material exports. Although the New Cambrian economy still relies heavily on fishing, its importance is diminishing as other industries, particularly tourism, technology and forestry grow. Apart from minor slowdowns in 2001, 2002 and 2008, the economy has consistently grown and expanded since 1994. New Cambria boasts an unemployment rate of just 1.9%, one of the world's lowest. Although New Cambria is a very developed country, it is still newly-industrialized. Until the late 1980s, New Cambria lagged far behind its two neighbors, Canada and the United States, and ranked among North America's poorer countries. The fast economic growth that it experienced in the last decades is only recently allowing for upgrading of infrastructure such as transportation. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the successive governments instituted policies aimed at diversifying the economy, privatizing state-owned industries and limiting foreign borrowing. In the last decade, New Cambria's economy has diversified into manufacturing and service industries, including software production, biotechnology and financial services. The tourism sector is expanding, with particular attention paid to eco-tourism. New Cambria's agriculture industry consists mainly of potatoes, green vegetables (grown in greenhouses) and dairy products. Market Square in Arvant is New Cambria's financial nerve center, housing several companies, investment banks, and the Arvant Stock Exchange (ASE), which opened in 1996. The currency of New Cambria is the New Cambria pound (NWP). During the republic's first decade, the United States Dollar was widely accepted as a de facto currency, and from 1963 to 1970, the pound was pegged to the dollar at a rate of 1 USD = 1.15 NWP. New Cambria's economic growth in the 1990s and 2000s has strengthened its currency's value against the dollar, and the exchange rate was reported to be 1 USD = 0.91 NWP in May 2008. Transportation :See Article: Vehicle registration plates of New Cambria‎ Though the main mode of transport is by car, New Cambrians rely far less on automobiles than their American and Canadian neighbors. Due to the country's small size and a relatively evenly populated network of small towns and urban centers, most residents need not travel far for essential services. Intra-island transport is made possible by ten national routes. Four of them originate in Arvant, then fan out southward to all parts of New Cambria Island, crisscrossed by east-west national routes. Until the mid-twentieth century, New Cambria could only afford to pave roads near the largest towns and cities. Today, roads are being paved throughout the country and freeways are being built in and around Arvant. New Cambria currently has one railway, running from Arvant in the north to St. Saviour and Greenbriar in the south. Inter-island travel takes the form of a ferry service. The ferries are based in Arvant, stopping off at The Settlement on Cavit Island and Wild Harbour on Alaric Island several times daily. The smaller islands are connected to Wild Harbour daily, and to Arvant twice weekly. The main hub for international transportation is Sebastien Brun International Airport (ARV), which serves Arvant and the country in general. Daily flights depart Arvant bound for St. John's, Boston, Montreal and Philadelphia, and other American, Canadian and European destinations are served once- and twice-weekly. Education ]]New Cambria's education system is similar to that of most western countries. There are three tiers of education: primary, secondary and tertiary. State-sponsored education is free to New Cambrian citizens and their dependents at all levels, including university. The Department of Education and Achievement, under the control of the Ministry of Education, is in overall control of policy, funding and direction, though most of the day-to-day administration of schools is the duty of the municipal or county government. All children must begin compulsory education before their seventh birthdays. Primary and Secondary Though not mandatory, most New Cambrian children begin schooling at age four or five, with some beginning pre-primary education at age three. The recent phenomena of urbanization and the increasing number of double-income families have meant more young children are enrolled in pre-primary programs. Primary level begins at grade one, and lasts through grade five. The primary curriculum is the most standardized of the three levels, with students receiving generalized instruction in physical and life sciences, maths, English language arts and mechanics, art, music, physical education, history and civics. Since 1998, foreign language instruction has been a part of the curriculum, with most students learning French or Spanish. The secondary level begins at grade six and lasts through grade twelve. During secondary, students build on the subjects introduced in primary, with additional career-oriented and university-preparatory education. A certificate of completion is awarded to students who complete secondary level. This certificate is required for entrance into most tertiary institutions. Until 2003, students were required to remain in school until age 18. Now, students may withdraw from compulsory education at age 17, or with parental consent required at age 16. At the same time, the Department of Education and Achievement created an Completion Equivalency Certificate (CEC), which secondary dropouts may earn after completing a prep course either in a classroom, by correspondence or online. Tertiary New Cambria offers students a number of options for post-secondary education. The University of New Cambria in Arvant and Southport City University in Southport are the country's premier tertiary institutions. Het Kajve University in Đor was originally a school for Keva youth and has since grown into a full-fledged public university. In addition, each county has at least one Institute of Technology (equivalent to a community college in the United States) that offers career certificate and Associates degree programs. New Cambria also has several smaller private colleges, including the country's most selective and reputable schools, Sacred Heart College, Hope College and Keller College. Homeschooling Due to political pressures by the Roman Catholic Church and various other groups, homeschooling was made illegal in New Cambria by Parliament in 1970. Even though it was formally decriminalized in 1998, it is still actively discouraged by the Ministry of Education. No formal accreditation process currently exists to ensure that homeschool instructors are qualified to teach, and homeschooled students are not eligible to be admitted into university without completing either an approved secondary education curriculum or obtaining a Completion Equivalency Certificate. Nevertheless, an estimated 100-250 children receive education in the home as of 2007. Privately-funded schools Like most other developed countries, many parents in New Cambria choose to send their children to privately-funded schools. Many of these are operated by the Roman Catholic Church or other religious organizations. New Cambria's French-speaking community also operates a network of French-language private schools. Because New Cambria's official religion is Roman Catholicism, Catholic families can have their children's Catholic school tuition and fees reimbursed by the government. Non-Catholic families are ineligible for reimbursement. Culture The culture of the peoples living in New Cambria is far from monolithic. Many notable cultural divides exist between the rural people and city-dwellers, between the three major language communities (English, French, Keva), and increasingly between new immigrants and the existing population. Agriculture and Fishing Tradition During the early Keva period, oral tradition and carvings show a society in which cattle represented a primary source of wealth and status. Little of this had changed by the time Europeans began settling the islands en masse in the seventeenth century. With the European colonization of New Cambria and her sister islands, the patterns of land occupation and settlement were altered substantially. The old tradition of open range cattle breeding and four-spoked villages died out to be replaced by a structure of great landed estates, small tenant farmers with more or less precarious hold on their leases, and a mass of landless labourers. This situation continued up to the land reforms of the late 19th century, at which point the former tenants and labourers became land owners, and the great estates being broken up into small- and medium-sized farms. Family Life New Cambria's strong Roman Catholic tradition has placed a heavy emphasis on traditional family principles since the first settlers arrived. Today, however, the social and economic change in recent years has brought about significant changes in family life in the country. According to figures published in 2006, 27% of all births in New Cambria occur outside marriage. This compares with 5% in 1976. Currently, the average age of mothers having their first child is 26, and the fertility rate is an average of 2.02 children. Divorce became legal in New Cambria on 1 January 1982. The most recent statistics show that the number of divorced people in New Cambria stood at 24,300 in 2006, compared with 6,700 in 1986. The number of separated people, including divorced people, increased from 60,800 in 1996 to 92,600 in 2006. Cohabiting couples made up 8.4% of all family units in 2006 compared with 3.9% in 1996. Holidays and Festivals :See Article: Public Holidays in New Cambria Holidays are set by an act of Parliament, and may be changed from year to year. Currently, there are nine public holidays observed in New Cambria. 29 April is celebrated as New Cambria's national day, as it commemorates the colony's declaration of intent to form a republic on 29 April 1956. In addition, Keva-population regions follow the holidays observed in the Keva lunisolar calendar. A few of these holidays have been absorbed into New Cambrian culture as a whole, and are celebrated by a significant portion of the population. The most widely-observed Keva holiday is Mivalat, which is celebrated for three days in October (from 29 Ketines to 1 Mađe in the Keva calendar). Mivalat has its origins in the harvest season, and is most commonly translated as "Gratitude Festival." In rural areas, bonfires are very common on all three nights of the festival. Celebrants are encouraged to place an object that represents a hardship or trial experienced in the past year inside a small box or bag, then burn or otherwise dispose of the object, symbolically releasing themselves of the burden and expressing gratitude for having endured it. Another popular Keva holiday is Ponpeli, which literally means New Year. The holiday is held on 1 Evne (March or April), and, as its name suggests, is the beginning of the Keva year. Ponpeli is a cousin to the vernal equinox, and it represents the end of the winter and the renewal of the life cycle. Cultural Institutions, Organizations and Events outside France. The flag of New Breizh municipality closely resembles the flag of Brittany.]]Arvant is home to the National Archives and the Library of the Republic, but the largest and most-visited cultural institutions are located in Southport. Southport is home to the T.W. Embry Museum of Art, New Cambria's largest art museum. Embry Museum has an extensive collection of textiles from over 200 present and historical cultures, and it is the only museum in the world in which Keva art is kept in permanent collection. Talbot in St. David's County is home to the Museum of History, which, until 2003 was actually two separate museums: one for the history of New Cambria itself and the other for the history of its people. The new museum complex now houses both in a state-of-the-art interactive facility. New Cambria also has its share of cultural festivals. Proclamation Day, St. Patrick's Day and St. George's Day are celebrated with parades and street fairs, which usually extend into the nearest weekend. In Stone County, the feast of St. Yves on 19 May is celebrated amongst the Breton population as a cultural holiday. The Keva-communities in North-West County often hold cultural events and ceremonies in mid-summer and mid-winter. New Cambria's small, but cohesive immigrant population from the former Yugoslavia hosts large block parties in an around Arvant sporadically throughout the year. Literature and the Arts Although the official literacy rate of New Cambria is 99%, some estimates have placed functional illiteracy at 8%-12% of the adult population. While reading remains a more popular pastime of New Cambria's youth than their counterparts in Canada and the United States, surveys show that it has decreased in importance compared to music, television, sports and other activities. Literary taste in New Cambria remains centered on the novel (23.8% of book sales in 2006), although New Cambrians read more non-fiction essays and books on current affairs than the Canadians or Americans. Contemporary novels lead the list (13% of total books sold), followed by detective and spy fiction (4.2%), science fiction and horror (2.2%), sentimental novels (2.1%), "classic" literature (1.5%) and erotic fiction (0.2%). About two-fifths of all fiction sold in New Cambria comes from the United States. Southport is known as New Cambria's centre for the dramatic arts. The Crossing, an arts district just north of Southport's CBD, is often referred to as the "Little West End" in tourism literature, drawing comparison to London's famous theatre district. Whereas international touring companies regularly make stops in Arvant, theatres in Southport often attract well-financed productions for extended runs. Among the Crossing's longest-running plays and musicals are Les Miserables, which played from 2000 to 2007 and Into the Woods, which ran from 1999 to 2005. Food and Drink Major staples of a New Cambria diet include the potato, as it is one of the few vegetables that can be cultivated on the island outside of a greenhouse, and various types of dairy products. Seafood has played an integral role in New Cambrian cuisine, and is still the most common meat consumed in the country, though pork, beef and poultry are also popular. In the last half-century, the usual modern selection of foods common to Western cultures has been adopted in New Cambria. American fast-food culture, English cuisine and other continental European dishes have influenced the country, along with other world dishes introduced in a similar fashion to the rest of the Western world. Common meals include pizza and Chinese food, though New Cambria has a reputation for elaborate and unconventional varieties of sandwiches. Supermarket shelves now contain ingredients for, among others, traditional, European, American and Balkan dishes. The proliferation of fast food has led to increasing public health problems including obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Efforts to combat this have included television advertisements, and more recently, the emergence of a new style of cuisine based on traditional ingredients handled in new ways. This cuisine is based on fresh vegetables, fish, oysters and other shellfish, cheeses and, of course, the potato. Until the 1940s, the most common beverage in New Cambria was tea. Following World War II, however, as New Cambrian culture drifted away from English and toward American influence, coffee overtook tea as the typical "morning beverage." With meals, most New Cambrians drink water or soft drinks like iced tea or cola. Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage. Languages The three most widely-spoken languages in New Cambria have long influenced each other, with the local English dialect adopting aspects of the French and Keva grammatical structures, and in turn, Keva drawing much vocabulary from English and French. English is spoken by approximately 89% of the population as a first language, and virtually the entire population as a second or third language. Native French-speakers make up approximately 7% and Keva-speakers approximately 3%. Several other languages are spoken on the island, entering the country along with recently-arrived immigrants. For example, the fourth most widely-spoken language in New Cambria is Bosnian, which arrived in the mid-1990s. A 2007 study published by a University of New Cambria linguistics professor suggested that non-English-speaking children and families face tremendous pressure to assimilate, and discrimination when they do not. The study featured French-, Hejvat- and Bosnian-speakers, and showed marked differences in treatment compared with an English-speaking control group in restaurants, retail establishments, interactions with police and civic officials, educational institutions and places of worship. Media Print There are several daily newspapers in New Cambria, including Dawn, The Daily Connection, and New Cambria Times. The French community is served by two dailies: La Voix (The Voice) and La Nouvelle République (The New Republic). The best-selling of these is The Daily Connection. The Times is New Cambria's newspaper of record. The Sunday market is quite saturated with American and Canadian publications. The leading Sunday newspaper in terms of circulation is the New York Times. There are quite a large number of local weekly newspapers, with every county and many larger towns having one or two newspapers. Curiously, Arvant remains one of the few places in New Cambria without a major local paper since the ''Arvant Sun closed in 1986. In 2002, the Arvant Tribune was launched, but failed to attract enough readers to make it viable, and eventually closed in 2006. While there are no Keva-language dailies, there are two weekly newspapers which publish at alternating parts of the week: Keđekaves (lit. Shout) has published on Mondays since 1985. Its sister publication, Lumahan (lit. Rumor) opened in 1997. Publishing every Thursday, Lumahan is oriented more towards younger readers, and features a large entertainment section devoted to each upcoming weekend. The magazine market in New Cambria is one of the world's most competitive, with hundreds of international magazines available in a relatively small country. This means that domestic titles find it very hard to retain readership. Among the best-selling New Cambrian magazines are Cam' (short for Cambria), Kaleidoscope and Spin. Radio The first official radio station in New Cambria was 1CF Arvant, which began broadcasting in 1927. 1CF Arvant later became part of New Cambria Radio. The first commercial radio station in New Cambria, Apex Radio, signed on for the first time in 1967. Beginning in the 1980s and continuing on to the present day, dozens of local radio stations have gained licenses. This has resulted in a fragmentation of the radio broadcast market. This trend is most noticeable in Arvant, where there are now 7 privately-licensed stations in operation. Television : See article: Television licensing in New Cambria New Cambria Television, a division of New Cambria Public Broadcasting, began broadcasting television programs in 1960. Commercial television arrived when NEV began operations in 1973. From 1989 to 2009, New Cambria had one 24-hour French-language television channel, Télé Direct. In June 2009, after suffering a steep decline in revenue, TD scaled back its broadcasts to 12-16 hours per day, and virtually eliminated all their non-news programming. American, Canadian and satellite-carried international television shows have widespread audiences in New Cambria, but an increasing share of programming is produced within the country. Among the most popular shows in New Cambria are Person to Person, a weekly talk show featuring human interest pieces and interviews with celebrities and other notable figures; Night Out Night In, a sketch comedy series with a reputation for political satire; and the annual New Cambria National Song Contest held every November. Internet Despite the large number of technology companies located in New Cambria, and its image as a high-tech country, Internet penetration in New Cambria lags behind many Western countries. Broadband access remains a particular problem. In 2006, it was estimated that only 12% of New Cambria homes had broadband access. New Cambria's dispersed settlement pattern is partly to blame and many rural areas have no broadband providers other than expensive satellite services. The municipality of St. Saviour in Trinity County is implementing a plan to provide high-speed Internet access free of charge to every home by the end of 2009. Their progress is being monitored by other municipalities, and may serve as a template for implementation elsewhere in New Cambria. Film Owing to its small size and proximity to the United States and Canada, New Cambria's film industry was virtually nonexistent until the late 1980s. Until the late 1970s, many American films were censored for New Cambrian audiences, or banned entirely, largely due to the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. This trend has all but reversed, however; the last time a commercially released film was edited specifically for release in New Cambria was in 1992. Currently, Parliament and the national film board and are working to promote New Cambria as an attractive location to shoot films. The Film Act of 1988 set the foundation for an expanding New Cambria-based film industry. It provided, among other things, very advantageous tax breaks for film productions and resident foreign creative individuals. The National Film Board was set up in 1993 to boost the local industry. Many film critics however point to the fact that the New Cambria Film Board's output has been poor, as most films which are chosen for funding do little or no business outside of the country, and are rarely popular in New Cambria. Sport Sport in New Cambria is popular and widespread. Throughout the island's history, a wide variety of sports have been played, the most popular being soccer, baseball and hockey. By attendance figures, hockey is by far the most popular sport in New Cambria, and the sport's main organizing body, the Hockey Association of New Cambria (HANC) has a large membership and an especially strong role in rural communities. Amongst the Keva population, the most popular sport is Đa Hava, which is similar to dodgeball. Category:New Cambria Category:Nearly Real World